Justice makes post-surgery appearance
WASHINGTON — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Monday night made her first public appearance since undergoing cancer surgery in December, attending a celebration of her life presented in song.
The 85-year-old justice attended a production of “Notorious RBG in Song” at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington. The program about Justice Ginsburg’s life in the law was created and performed by her daughter-in-law, the soprano Patrice Michaels, and presented for high school students by the National Constitution Center.
Justice Ginsburg did not speak, and many in the crowd did not know she was there.
Virginia governing on hold
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s office put much of the business of governing on hold Tuesday as the Democrat privately weighed whether he can stay in the job despite the uproar over a racist photo on his 1984 medical school yearbook page.
A close friend of Mr. Northam, Republican state Sen. Richard Stuart, said he is convinced the governor won’t resign. He said Mr. Northam told him he felt a responsibility to stay in office and make amends.
In the meantime, negotiations between the governor’s office and the Republicans who run the legislature were suspended on what was otherwise one of the busiest days on the legislative calendar. Mr. Northam wasn’t making any of the public appearances he does almost every weekday. The regular economic development announcement emails have stopped.
Mr. Northam’s office is in the middle of negotiations with the legislature over a major tax overhaul and changes to the state budget. Tuesday was “crossover day,” when the House and Senate must finish bills to send to the other chamber.
World Bank critic as leader?
WASHINGTON — The World Bank may be poised for a shake-up with President Donald Trump planning to nominate David Malpass, who has been a critic of the bank, to lead the institution focused on global poverty.
Mr. Malpass’ selection was confirmed by a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official wasn’t authorized to comment publicly. Mr. Trump is expected to make the announcement later this week.
Now the undersecretary for international affairs at the Treasury Department, Mr. Malpass has been an outspoken skeptic of the 189nation World Bank, which provides low-cost loans for projects around the world. Mr. Malpass has called for curbing the bank’s financial reach and has criticized its lending to China.
If the World Bank’s directors approve his nomination, Mr. Malpass would be positioned to overhaul an institution that, he has argued, has become too focused on its own expansion and prestige rather than on the interests of poor countries.
White House wall meetings
President Donald Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met with contractors at the White House to discuss building the border wall late last week, two sources with knowledge of the meeting told CNN. He also met with contractors on Monday, a day ahead of his State of the Union address, according to two people familiar with the meetings.
CNN has reported that several senior Senate Republicans and members of GOP leadership have raised serious concerns about the possibility of Mr. Trump bypassing Congress and using an emergency declaration to build his wall.